HOTELIER AWARDS 2013: Procurement award finalists
With just one month to go until the Hotelier Middle East Awards are held at the world’s tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on October 30, it is time to unveil the shortlists of hoteliers that are up for our distinguished awards. In total, 90 hoteliers across 18 individual awards categories have been shortlisted, along with five hotel teams for the coveted Team of the Year Award.
Here we unveil the finalists for the Procurement Person of the Year Award, which was won last year by Bhanu Pratap Singh, director of procurement at Atlantis The Palm. This year the award is sponsored by Du, the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company.
Kalinga Dissanayake, director of purchasing, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
ABOUT KALINGA
Kalinga Dissanayake, who holds a diploma in Purchasing & Material Management from the Institute of Supply & Material Management in Sri Lanka, first entered the hospitality industry in May 2005 when he joined the One & Only Royal Mirage Hotel in Dubai as purchasing officer, before being promoted to the roles of assistant purchasing manager and later purchasing manager. Dissanayake then joined The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal as director of purchasing in 2012 as a part of the pre-opening team.
WHY WAS HE NOMINATED?
During the pre-opening process Dissanayake was tasked with selecting more than 200 suppliers that were essential to the opening in a very short period of time. One example of his success in this high pressure situation was the negotiation of a contract with a well-known bus transportation supplier for 25% below market value which saved the hotel US $80,000 per year. Dissanayake also made the decision to outsource public area cleaning and laundry management, which are traditionally done in-house by the hotels, that not only brought savings of AED 103,000 per year, but also a new flexibility to teh property’s operations as it was able to reduce manning during the low season.
WHAT DID HIS TEAM SAY?
“Kalinga started with The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi during the pre-opening period and played a key role in making the hotel what it is today. Creating an environment of teamwork, excellence and positive attitude, Kalinga and his team spent long hours in setting up the department, working with the ownership on receiving the OS&E, building up the stores, working with the chefs on selecting the products, in few words, getting all the products and equipment required for the hotel to receive guests. After the opening, the regular job duties are not enough for him and he started getting more involved with the Marriott UAE cluster projects. As a good leader and mentor, Kalinga supports and trains his team to be always ready to grow within the company. I believe Kalinga did an outstanding job during the last 12 months and due to his hunger for excellence, leadership, teamwork and honesty, he definitely deserves the Middle East Hotelier Award.” Liviu Raulea, director international procurement, Ritz-Carlton / Marriott Head Office Middle East & Africa.
WHAT DID HIS SUPPLIERS SAY?
“I have known Kalinga Dissanayake since September 2012. Since then I have always found Kalinga very professional and dedicated in his approach to various subject. Kalinga is always well prepared and well informed about all matters and is striving to find the most efficient process in achieving his and his partners’ goals. In addition to the above I would like to emphasize Kalinga´s pleasant and friendly nature.” Jesper Madsen, general manager, Emirates Landscape, Abu Dhabi.
Please click through to next page to find out who else has been shortlisted…
Negussie Tedela, purchasing manager, Movenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate
ABOUT NEGUSSIE
After obtaining a diploma in accounting from Addis Ababa Commercial College in 1996 and an executive MBA at, Negussie Tedela began his career in hospitality in 1997 at the Sheraton Addis Luxury Collection Hotel as the assistant F&B Cost Controller. In 2000, Tedela moved within the Sheraton family to Algiers as F&B cost controller at the Sheraton Club Des Pin’s. In 2001, he was promoted to credit manager at the same property before moving to Doha where he briefly worked as the assistant F&B cost controller at the Sheraton Doha Hotel & Resort. It wasn’t until 2002 that he made a permanent move to Dubai and joined the Fairmont Dubai Hotel in as the F&B cost controller, and in 2004 became the assistant purchasing manager. Tedela’s hard work took him to the position of purchasing manager at Raffles Dubai in 2007 before he eventually joined Mövenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate as a part of the pre opening team in 2010 as cluster purchasing manager.
WHY WAS HE NOMINATED?
Over the past 12 months, Tedela has decreased the cost of hood, exhaust fan and duct cleaning annual maintenance for two properties, including the Mövenpick Hotel Ibn Battuta Gate and the Oceana Beach Club by 35% compared to last year. In addition, Tedela also managed to arrange excellent deals with beverage providers saving a total of AED 1 Million per year in rebates and brand support, and thereby increasing the hotel’s revenue. Moreover, he has successfully negotiated a 23.5% reduction of the employee transportation cost over a course of year.
WHAT DID HIS TEAM SAY?
"Tedela is spontaneous, friendly, professional, and an avid opportunity seeker. He always has creative and innovate suggestions and solutions to purchasing issues and is a major ‘cost saver’,” Michael Nugent, general manager.
WHAT DID HIS SUPPLIERS SAY?
"I must say that I found Tedela an absolute pleasure to work with. Easily the best purchasing manager I have worked with in the last two years," Paul Davids, Emirates Printing Press.
Please click through to next page to find out who else has been shortlisted…
Pushpa Nair, director of procurement, Crowne Plaza Dubai
ABOUT PUSHPA
With over two decades of experience in Procurement and Hospitality, Pushpa Nair first joined the hospitality industry in 1993 as part of the pre-opening team of the Crowne Plaza Dubai. Starting off as a personal assistant to the general manager, Nair quickly saw her responsibilities delve into FF&E selection, supplier short listing, many of which fell under the umbrella of Procurement, a field she felt at home in. This affinity for the field was noticed by both the owners and the GM and a transfer request to the procurement department was granted. Nair a started off in the department as an assistant purchasing manager, and after working with several finance directors, she quickly became a known name within the Intercontinental Hotels Group, and was promoted to purchasing manager before taking o her current role of director of procurement.
WHY WAS SHE NOMINATED?
Pushpa’s passion for procurement runs deep and she is constantly scanning the market for ways to improve and make the supply-chain more efficient. Short of two staff, she managed to deliver the same high level of performance by cross training 12 colleagues from different departments. Signing a number of short term and long term contracts, Nair also saved the hotel over AED800,000, while other initiatives have saved over AED 2,000,000. During a recent re-branding, Nair’s insistence on challenging initial offers saved the hotel more than AED 224,000, a 30% reduction on the initial offer.
WHAT DID HER TEAM SAY?
“Pushpa is made for Procurement. Immensely passionate and skilled at it, she is always inspiring and encouraging her team and colleagues all across the region, to work together. Pushpa’s expertise in the field is unmatched, and she is constantly challenging status quo to find ways to increase the efficiency of the supply-chain, to finding ways to be socially responsible and maximize profits. Pushpa’s commitment through and through to her decisions will tell of her immense level of confidence in what she believes the best choice is. She is not one to settle for the lowest price, but factors in total acquisition costs, extrapolated (projected) costs, contingency planning, and always takes a decision only after she is confident to back it up. She is an asset to our team.” Georges Farhat, hotel manager
WHAT DID HER SUPPLIERS SAY?
“We have been in close association with Pushpa over the last 18 months and we are glad and extremely proud to have shared our corporate experience with her as a supplier of bathroom amenities. She is extremely professional from her effective communication to excellent negotiation skills without compromising on quality standards and necessary follow ups required. She is an asset to Crowne Plaza and has also helped us with insight into our practice, especially with how to make us unique.” Vinayak Mahtani, CEO, Unique Precise International LLC
Please click through to next page to find out who else has been shortlisted…
Ibrahim Saadhe, purchasing manager, Radisson Blu Martinez Hotel Beirut
ABOUT IBRAHIM
Ibrahim Saadeh first joined the Radisson Blu Martinez Hotel Beirut in 2008 as a storekeeper. His willingness and ability to learn y saw him promoted to assistant purchasing manager only 10 months later, before he was then promoted to purchasing manager in October 2009. Since then Saadhe has managed to recycle the hotel’s old chiller by selling it on and offsetting the cost of a new one; working with local suppliers where possible to keep costs down; while last year the hotel fully renovated the kitchen, cafeteria, lobby lounge and the CCTV in the hotel.
WHY WAS HE NOMINATED?
Throughout his 6 years in this hotel, Ibrahim has regularly assisted in different departments by helping the receiving clerk, the income auditor and the storekeeper during periods of annual leave. He is a highly involved and flexible employee who never says no to additional tasks, even those not in his field. Ibrahim is one of the members who organises the hotel’s football team which train after duty hours, while he also stepped in to replace the income auditor for a period of two months doing this alongside his own position.
WHAT DID HIS TEAM SAY?
“Ibrahim Saadeh is always on time and very helpful. He will never leave before finishing all the requested duties even if that means staying extra hours Banquet Manager: He is very helpful in dealing with the executive chef and the demand in the F&B department. General Manager: Ibrahim is very professional and he can prioritise his tasks in order to accomplish better and effective savings in time and prices.” HR manager.
Please click through to next page to find out who else has been shortlisted…
Mohammad Sulaiman Muhaiullah, materials coordinator, Dar Al Tawhid InterContinental, KSA
ABOUT MOHAMMAD
Mohammad Sulaiman Muhaiullah joined the Dar Al Tawhid InterContinental hotel in Saudi Arabia in October 2001 as one of the hotel’s buyers before eventually progressing to his current position of materials coordinator. During this journey, when he was also promoted to senior buyer and materials supervisor, Muhaiullah attended many training and self-improvement courses in order to strengthen his position such as data privacy, HACCP training and brand engagement training as well as becoming one of the hotel’s certified first aider.
WHY WAS HE NOMINATED?
Muhaiullah has worked hard to provide all the necessary logistical and material support necessary for the hotel to provide maximum guest comfort, such as negotiating an increase in the internet speed for the hotel’s Royal Floor from 1MB to 3MB during Ramadan without any additional charges. Moreover, Muhaiullah extended special attention to the hotel’s VIP needs such as purchasing exotic fruits, special dates, smoked items, imported cheeses, nuts and different verities of imported water. Muhaiullah was also able to overcome product shortages in the market by closely liaising with his suppliers, while also saving the hotel approximately SR 3.9 million by re-negotiating various products and contracts such as small operating equipment, food products and POMEC items.